New Approaches to Agricultural Insect Pest Control Based on RNA Interference

In the past decade, RNA interference (RNAi) has been in rapid development as a powerful tool in functional genomics research. The discovery of RNAi has augmented our understanding of small (similar to 20-30nt) noncoding RNAs as critical regulators of gene expression and genome stability, and the RNAi also presents a fascinating technology with great potential for application in gene function dissection, disease therapy, plant protection, and nutritional improvement, as well as many other areas. In this review, we give a brief introduction to the discovery of RNAi, describe its molecular mechanisms and discuss the biological functions of small RNAs in insects and the development of new technologies for insect pest control. Emphasis is placed on methods of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) delivery and pathways of dsRNA uptake by insects, especially the engineering of plants to specifically suppress herbivorous insect gene expression. We conclude by considering feasible approaches for enhancing the effectiveness of RNAi and potential drawbacks of this promising approach to agricultural pest control.